A perfect-ish little YA book about that weird in-between of friendship and love; family & friends...and you know, camp, and grief, and growing up. And photography and capturing life. I really like Emma Lord. Can't wait to see what else she does.

I appreciated the Abby being the slightly rebellious, secretive type-I don't feel like I see that in some of the YA romance I read. Often it's idealized or plain old missing parents and not the hidden teen that so many harbor.

Sorry this is short, and I wish I could give it the kind of review it deserves, but I just can't in this moment. I'm glad to find there's another strong YA voice on the scene, always.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. This has not affected my review.

When Abby sends her DNA in to one of those services to support her friend Leo who’s trying to find his family she doesn’t expect to get anything back but the normal ancestry results. Instead she unexpectedly finds out that she has a full blooded sister and she only lives across town. When she meets up with Savvy, she’s talked into heading off to summer camp to get to know this older sister she never knew she had and find out the story of how her parents gave up their first child.

After having read the ultra sweet first novel by Emma Lord titled Tweet Cute, I knew I’d read You Have a Match. This author’s style is very readable and her characters very identifiable. Abby is easily the girl next door whom we can all see a little bit of ourselves in, but this situation is something we’d only read in, well, a novel. Savvy’s personality is the complete opposite of Abby, an Instagram blogger with a huge following, Savvy is constantly looking for the best shot. Abby, too is looking for the best shot, but she takes pictures of wild life, and her best friend Leo has created an Instagram account and logged all of her best shots. She’s never even opened it up to take a look.

Abby had all of the usual high school problems including that one incident with her best friend Leo that turns their friendship into almost something more. That tension between them hangs over their heads through the entire novel in a will they or won’t they that didn’t get too tiring because of the larger story between Abby and Savvy. Ultimately, the romance was interrupted by a family drama that was oh so much more interesting. I liked how these kids handled their “adult” issues. Their actions didn’t seem so out of the norm for a normal teenager, yet was youthful enough where I didn’t feel like I was reading about adults in 16 year old bodies which was refreshing.

You Have a Match was not quite as cute as Tweet Cute but was a solid second novel. I’ll have to keep Emma Lord on my must read if she keeps putting out stories like her first two novels. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest!

This is a sweet relationship, a family book of beautiful romantic vibes, sisterhood. Your spirit is restored and your smiles widen, brightening your mood. I read it at one of the most difficult moments, and after the stormy rains, it helped me a lot to see the rainbows.

First, I have wanted to read Tweet Cute for a few years, but my library just hasn't had a copy, so I was grateful to @netgalley and #WednesdayBooks from @stmartinspress for the eARC of her newest novel to read and review! Abby signs up for a DNA service to help out her best friend (and crush) Leo; however, what started as a motion of support quickly turns into her finding out she has an older sister she's never met...and who her parents have kept hidden. After meeting up with her sister, Savvy, the two manage to both go off to the same summer camp as they try to figure out what their families are hiding. However, Leo is also at the same summer camp! Abby spends the next few weeks managing new-sister drama and the "will they, won't they" feelings for Leo.

There is really not much to say that hasn't already been said - this was just downright cute. It was light and fun. And transported me to a beautiful summer camp for a few hours of delightful reading. I know some people are still struggling to read after the events earlier in January in DC, but this was the perfect light read to bring some levity to my anxieties.

Thank you to the Publisher (St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books) and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw that Emma Lord had a new book coming out, I immediately added it to my TBR because Tweet Cute was one of my favourite books of 2020. Even though I didn't enjoy this book as much as Tweet Cute, I still thought it was quick and delightful, and I highly recommend checking it out.

You Have a Match follows Abby, a teenager who agrees to sign up for a DNA service with her friends Leo and Connie, even though she knows that she won't find anything surprising. When she gets the results back, they're exactly what she expects, until she gets a message from a stranger claiming to be her sister. What follows is a summer full of camp, photography, culinary creations, confused romantic feelings, friendship, family secrets, self-reflection, and growth.

My favourite thing about this book was the different hobbies that the characters had. Abby, the main character, is a photographer. She doesn't have a lot of confidence in her artistic abilities, but she takes pictures of scenery and of Leo's culinary creations. Leo is interested in food, and he loves experimenting in the kitchen. There's a lot of talk about the things he makes in this book, and his lasagna balls, in particular, are something that I need in my life. Savvy is a lifestyle influencer on Instagram. She posts things like green smoothies and yoga poses, but it's clear that she enjoys what she does. I liked seeing these hobbies play out on the page, and I thought they added a fun dimension to the characters.

Speaking of the characters, I loved all of them. I enjoyed the friendship between Abby, Connie, and Leo, even though there weren't a lot of scenes with all three of them together. I loved the group of girls that Abby met at summer camp, and I liked that they all had plans for their futures and how to tie social media into their plans. I wanted to hug Finn, and he was probably my favourite secondary character in the book. I thought Mickey was awesome, and I loved everything about her. I liked Abby and Savvy, and I enjoyed reading about them trying to figure out what their dynamic should be.

I really liked the family secret aspect of this book. I don't think I've read a book before that deals with secret sisters, and I thought it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed reading about Abby and Savvy trying to figure out their parent's secrets and trying to piece together their story. I also enjoyed the shenanigans they got into while plotting against their parents.

As far as romance goes, this book has some. It's not the main plot of the book, but there are a few romantic threads. There's also a bit of a love shape in this book, which is fun if that's something you're interested in.

This book deals with some heavy topics like, trying to find out where you're from, divorce, family secrets, and dealing with a loved one's death. I think all of these topics were handled well, especially the grief aspect of the story.

As mentioned before, I didn't enjoy this book as much as Tweet Cute. This book was a quick read. I liked the characters, and I thought the storyline was cute, but it also felt like something was missing. I'm not entirely sure what was missing, but there was something that wasn't there. If I figure it out, I will let you all know.

One final thing that I want to note is that Emma Lord writes the best epilogues. I don't want to give anything away, but seriously, her epilogues always fill me with a ton of joy.

5/5⭐️ to You Have a Match by Emma Lord

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for sending me an early egalley to review!

Oh my gosh, this was such a delight from page one! I really loved our main character, Abby, as she finds out she has a secret sister and then goes to summer camp to spend with her and get to know her. This book was full of amazing friendship, sisterhood, camp shenanigans, family drama & secrets, and a message of encouragement to choose what makes you happy.

I thought the characterization in You Have a Match was really well done, from our MC, to the secondary cast, to characters who only make a brief appearance. My favourites were Abby and her sister, Sav. They were so full of joy and life, and their emerging relationship as sisters was so sweet, but also full of sibling drama. Abby is a skilled photographer, though she initially doesn’t believe that’s what her career should be, and is grieving the loss of her Grandpa. Sav is Instagram famous, sharing her passion and knowledge of yoga and health practices. Both girls also end up in friends-to-love love triangle situations which I totally ate up! Also related, I adored the camp setting where we get to know their friends (old & new). Aaaah! Such good memories of my own times at camp! Finally I want to comment on kind of the main storyline/conflict point: these sisters had no idea each other existed, and there seems to be some MAJOR family drama. This was so well done, and kept me glued to the pages! The intrigue was real, and I love how it was threaded throughout the book, brought the sisters and friends closer together, but also created tension in the story.

I adored Tweet Cute, which is why I was so excited for You Have a Match, and between these two Emma Lord is definitely on my auto-read/auto-buy author list! Camp setting, secret sisters, queer representation, family secrets, go check it out!

You Have a Match is a bit of a modern take on The Parent Trap with a little romance mixed in.
Abby finds out through a DNA test that she has an older sister and tries to find out what secrets her parents have been keeping.

“My eyes are on her and around her, everywhere and nowhere at once. The me and the not-me of her. I can’t decide what’s weirder, the parts of her I recognize or the parts that I don’t.”

Both Abby and Savvy find out more about each other and about themselves while at a summer camp. The story is a sweet coming of age and self discovery story. I really enjoyed this story and loved the little bit of romance in the storyline.
-4.5 Stars!-

A HUGE thank you to St. Martin's Press, Emma Lord, and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book. This is a free review, all opinions are my own.

This was such a cute book! I wanted to know how things played out from the very beginning and as things unfolded and more information was divulged, I was even more invested. The story hooks you in and leaves you wanting more.

I liked Abby a lot as a character, her development was so well-done and she really did grow so much over the course of this book. The side characters were great and Lord did such a great job interweaving all the little subplots and details to create the story.

The whole summer camp vibe was great as well, fit right in and gave it the almost Parent Trap feel. I loved seeing the camp dynamic as well, it was such a great setting, especially given current restrictions and everything because of Covid.

The flow of the book was perfect, the ending was great, I would have honestly loved more.

I truly loved this book so much and is already a front-runner for one of my favorite books of the year. It was the perfect blend of light fluffy romance and also really deep moments. Emma Lord is an auto-buy author for me.

This story was not what I was expecting at all. I loved it. The premise is fun and full of themes of sisterhood, friendship, and this read is perfect for the summer!

A fun and enjoyable read!

I was provided an advanced digital copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

I loved Tweet Cute and I was really hoping to love this sophomore book from Emma Lord just as much. Unfortunately, while it wasn't bad, it also wasn't my favorite. This read more like a YA Fiction than a YA Romcom, so perhaps that's just an error in what I expected because of Tweet Cute vs what was actually intended. But when I'm expect one thing and get something else, it really has to have a wow factor to overcome the disappointment.

That said, I still gave You Have a Match 3.5 stars (rounding to 4 on whole number sites). It's a nice story and the main characters are well developed. I really enjoyed the relationship between the sisters and felt it was a mostly natural progression. But the romantic interests for both main characters definitely felt like supporting characters and I would have liked to see more from them.

There were funny moments, which helped bring levity to a more serious topic, but the seriousness around the adults secrets was downplayed so much that it just felt... off. As an adult reader, this bothered me and caused the book to feel even more YA than it probably would have otherwise. But to a younger reader, this would likely not be an issue and does keep the book from crossing over in the to "too serious" territory.

Lastly, the pacing for this one felt a bit confusing. We are at camp for days already and then suddenly they've been doing weeks of punishment. And then days (?) later we still have weeks of punishment to go, during a 4 week camp? If this sounds confusing, well, it's because I'm still not sure of the timing of events. This really stuck out to me, but again, may not be an issue for most readers.

Last year Tweet Cute was one of the most adorable books I read all year and when I was in the mood for another cutesy book I knew this would hit the spot. This follows Abby as she takes a DNA test and discovers she has a sister who is a huge Instagram influencer. Savvy, Abby and some of their friends all end up at summer camp together and the sisters are determined to find out why Abby’s parents put Savvy up for adoption.

This is a lighthearted and sweet little read that focused on family, friendship and a little bit of romance. My sweet spot for an audiobook lately is something easy to follow along with with some entertainment thrown in and this was exactly that for me. The narrator was great and this one left me with a smile on my face

This book was adorable! I really enjoyed the Parent Trap like plot and the characters were a lot of fun!

Abby signs up for a DNA service with her best friend and crush. When the results come in she gets a surprise she never expected. When the results come back that she has an older sister she's left with more questions than she'd imagined. Savvy is an Instagram star who was adopted and raised as an only child. When she finds out she has a younger sister she sets out to find out why her biological parents placed her for adoption.

Abby and Savvy are on two sides of the spectrum when it comes to personality but they have one goal both are striving to find answers for and that's to try to figure out why their parents went from being best friends to not talking at all after Savvy was born. The more investigating they do the more questions they have and when both of their parents randomly show up at camp things start to get crazy! I liked the balance they have for each other. One is a rule follower and one is a rule breaker but working together they help each other lighten up or get back on track.

I also loved all their friends at the camp and it was so fun seeing how all of them came together to help both Abby and Savvy find the answers they were looking for. This was a fun and light YA contemporary which was just what I needed. I definitely plan on picking up Emma Lord's previous book Tweet Cute soon!

I don't read many YA novels, but because of Modern Mrs. Darcy's 2020 Summer Reading Guide suggestion, I read and really enjoyed Tweet Cute. When I saw that I that Emma Lord was releasing her second book in the #MMD Winter Reading Guide, I knew that You Have a Match would be on my 2021 TBR. There were several themes running through the book, which includes but was not limited to...summer camp, coming of age, friends to more, family secrets, and friend and sibling relationships. The premise is that best friends, Connie, Abby and Leo, decide to use a "send away DNA kit" in part for a family tree school project, but mostly to support Leo in finding out information about his biological family. The results that one of them receives back, is surprising and becomes the backbone for the rest of the story. I did enjoy this novel, but found the second half of the book more substantial than the first half, where it felt like we kept being introduced to more topics and more characters, without them being fully developed. On a side note, not sure why they picked this cover for the story. Kayaks and kayaking are both mentioned in the book however, there isn't a kayaking scene in the story! I think teens will enjoy this story that is often humorous and gives readers that longed for happy ending. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and her best friend (and secret longtime crush) Leo sign up for a DNA service. Abby is shocked to find out that she has an older sister who her parents gave up for adoption. The two sisters plan to meet at summer camp behind their parents' back.

The story was cute. At first the sisters have some sort of rivalry going on, while at the same time Abby is struggling for her unreciprocated (she thinks) feelings for Leo. The love story was just okay. It is obvious the entire time that they both like each other but each doesn't realize that the other feels the same way. I didn't feel the angst because it was a little too obvious.

Abby's relationship with her parents is portayed unrealistically. They pressure her and she just goes along with it. This is inconsistent with her character. At camp she refuses to follow the most basic rules but at home she is a doormat. The way she deferred to her parents just doesn't seem typical of even the most well-behaved teen, especially after finding out such a shocking secret. She merely just accepts their decision to keep the details of her sisters adoption a secret? I'm not buying that.

Despite these issues, I enjoyed the book overall. And I liked it more than the author's previous work. I will definitely check out her next book.

'You Have a Match' is about high schooler Abby who learns, thanks to anonline DNA test, that she has a sister she never knew about. They head to summer camp together, along with her childhood best friend and crush Leo, to get to know one another and figure out why their parents have kept them apart their whole lives.
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So everyone who has shared a rave review of 'You Have a Match' was right. It's so dang cute. So cute. Exactly what the doctor ordered. I was a huge fan of Emma Lord’s first book, 'Tweet Cute', so have had high hopes for this follow-up, and she did not disappoint. If you love YA, summer camp, the movie 'The Parent Trap', or cute little PG rated romances then this is the book for you. ⁠
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I read this book all in one sitting. It’s a little juvenile and repetitive at times, but much less so than most YA. The characters are all so well fleshed out and lovable. And it’s easy to understand their motivations. Go pick up a copy today! It's the cure for what ails you!⁠

Family secrets! Summer camp! Friendships! Young love! LGBTQ+ representation! Instagram influencers! This book has it all - it sounds like a lot, but for You Have a Match, it works.

This time around, we meet Abby Day - a junior in high school who is juggling slipping grades, a secret crush on her best friend, a growing distance with her other best friend, and a secret passion for photography that she's too scared to share. Her family has their own set of secrets, as she finds out by doing a 23andMe genetic testing to help her secret crush, Leo, do one. Imagine her surprise when it comes back declaring that she has a biological sister, and that sister, who just so happens to be a popular Instagram star Savannah Tully, reaches out to her, asking to get together. Savannah convinces Abby to join her at summer camp so that they can figure out what is going on between their parents. Surprise! Her crush, Leo, was at the same camp!

There were a lot of moving pieces to this book, and many areas of Abby's life that felt like they were falling apart. Emma Lord has a way of writing that keeps all of those pieces moving, while we also learn about secondary characters as well. My favorite thing about this book was how well Lord made me feel for characters - of course I was rooting for Abby, but I also was rooting for Finn, and Mickey. When reading about what secrets the parents were fighting, I could feel the emotions to the point where I thought to myself "I want to write like that." Even better was seeing how each and every character grew throughout the story.

I highly recommend this one for young adult fans! The characters in the story were around 16-18 years old (besides the parents, of course), and the most action was kissing or hugging.

One of my favorite YA tropes take place at a summer camp. I went to camp as a kid but I was also a counselor my first summer during college and it still remains some of my favorite memories. This one was so much more than summer camps but in the best way.

I have always been intrigued by DNA kits and our main character gets the surprise of her life when she takes one on a whim with two of her best friends. While theirs come back with nothing interesting, Abby learns that she has a full blood sister that she never knew about. More than that- this long lost sister has reached out and wants to meet. Abby quickly learns that Savannah is everything she is not- confident, outgoing and she runs a super popular Instagram account. Although they cant really decide if they actually like each other- they come up with a plot to go to the same summer camp for the summer to get to figure out what happened with their parents and Savannah’s adoption. The summer is full of mishaps and misunderstandings and utter chaos at times but throughout it all- Savannah and Abby get to know each other and themselves. Abby makes some really great friends and I liked watching her grow into herself and become more outgoing. And she FINALLY confesses her love for her best friend Leo. Most importantly, these girls confront their parents and learn the truth. Such a roller coaster. But I really enjoyed it.

When Abby takes a DNA test, courtesy of her adopted friend Leo who is hoping to find information on his birth family, she is stunned to discover she has a full-blooded sister not very far away. Savannah reaches out and asks Abby if she wants to meet, and the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride as two sisters try to solve the mystery of why neither one knew the other existed.

Emma Lord ties in a sweet romantic will-they-or-won't-they between both Abby and Leo, as well as Savannah and her bestie Mickey. The plot is adorable, the story well-told. I enjoyed every minute of this book!